the first one was in 1960, kennedy-nixon. then there was a hiatus until 1976, when gerald ford agreed to debate jimmy carter. the debate commission was established in 1987. jim lehrer, tonight's moderator, has moderated the most debates over those years, 12 altogether. you have gotten criticisms about a moderator 6 -- selection, that they are mainstream media, all white, and middle-age or older. what is the response to that? >> we would state it slightly differently. we would say we have picked four exceptional journalists to have a lot of experience in doing presidential debates and covering politics in the white house and in foreign policy. we think they are also four individuals who have proven it is not about them. we do not want moderator's here trying to put themselves ahead of what the candidates have to say. at the end of the day, the american people want to hear from the candidates. one thing jim lehrer has demonstrated is that he is the type of moderator who lets the candidates do the talking. he will ask the questi